


danger wrapped in darkness

by liionne



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-27 23:51:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A guy with a golden shirt and gold hair to match grinned at him, but Leonard scooted back, until he was pressed against the very corner of the cell, his back against the cold brick of the walls. He didn't know who this man was, or who "Bones" was, and even though his attackers had been wearing black and he was wearing gold, Leonard didn't want to be near him. He screamed danger danger danger, and with his nose dribbling blood down his lips and his lips dribbling blood down his chin, he wanted no more danger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	danger wrapped in darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the tags from ["here"](http://trektags.tumblr.com/post/54018452353/lannsister-no-bones-getting-age-regressed)

There was an injection, there was stinging, and then he passed out. But he couldn't really remember that bit when he woke. All he knew was that there were two of these strange people holding him down by the shoulder and one of them punching him in the face, apparently to wake him up. He must've been unconcious for a while.

The punching stopped, and someone screamed something in a language he definitely didn't know.

All he did was groan and hang his head. He didn't understand why this person - because it looked like a person - was beating him, but he knew he was powerless to stop it. He was only eighteen, there was nothing he could do. He didn't even know how he'd _gotten_ here, nevermind what was going on.

And then there was more yelling, but this time in English. His eyes widened at the curse words and the blasts that could only be from a phaser. He gulped. More people. More people coming towards him. To shoot him? He wasn't sure, but another punched was aimed at his stomach, and his head was pulled up by the hair, and he forgot everything but pain.

There was yelling from all around him and his head was still being strung up by a leather-clad hand and he wanted nothing more than to cry, because this certainly wasn't Earth, nevermind Georgia, and he'd never even been over the state line before. And why had his parents even let him get himself into this mess? Were they here? Where was his father and why wasn't he coming to get him like he always did?

"Bones!"

A phaser blast hit whoever was holding his head up straight in the chest, and suddenly the grip from his hair was gone and so were the two pressing down on his shoulders, shoving his knees into the hard concrete floor. A guy with a golden shirt and gold hair to match grinned at him, but Leonard scooted back, until he was pressed against the very corner of the cell, his back against the cold brick of the walls. He didn't know who this man was, or who "Bones" was, and even though his attackers had been wearing black and he was wearing gold, Leonard didn't want to be near him. He screamed _danger danger danger_ , and with his nose dribbling blood down his lips and his lips dribbling blood down his chin, he wanted no more danger.

The man who entered beside him seemed impassive. He wasn't danger but he was cold. He gave Leonard a clinical stare with an arched pointed eyebrow, and then looked to the one in gold.

And then because apparently he wasn't getting any break today, one of his tormentors crashed into them, and the other crashed into him. And he wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he remembered omething deep in the recesses of his brain, and he lashed out.

He hit and he punched and he god damn bit and scratched until there was nothing left, none of the black leather tormentors left to come at him again. His skin was torn in places and he might as well've been purple from all the bruising, and he knew it. Pain was all he felt. No anger, no fear. Just pain.

But then he saw the group of three men, because apparently another had decided to join them (also wearing gold) staring at him as if he was an animal. That was when he broke. Fear hit him and he fell to the floor, legs collapsing under him. He hit the floor with a dull thud and tried to keep fro crying.

"Jim! Is he alright?"

It was a woman's voice, but that didn't make Leonard feel any safer. She could be just as savage as the rest of them, he knew that. He never underestimated a woman. But then he saw her and a little bit of his fear fell away, becaue her eyes were warm and brown and safe, _safe safe safe_ in this room full of danger and hurt and cold.

"Bones?"

The first man moved towards him and reached out a hand, but Leonard scooted bck into the corner and pressed his back to the wall as if thinking that if he used enough force he could pass through it. Danger, his mind screamed at him. Danger danger danger.

The woman lowered his hand with her own, taking a few steps forward. She pressed her lips into a thin line, and all Leonard could think of was the millions of times he'd seen his mother doing the same thing. His mom. Where was she? He didn't know, but he hoped she wasn't anywhere near her.

Slowly, the woman lowered herself to a crouching position. She reached her hand out to him, and said so softly, and so warmly, "Leonard?"

That was all it took for him to launch himself at her, burying his face into the crook of her neck and cry. He cried because he didn't know where he was, or who these people were or what was going on, and every square inch of him hurt to the very bone and he wanted to go home, and apparently she was the closest thing to home he was going to get here.

"Get him back aboard."

It was Jim, or he assumes it was Jim, who gave the order. Leonard didn't look at him, but he could hear the anger mingling with concern in his voice. He sent the cold one - Spock, he called him - to take all of the vials from the table in the corner of the room. Leonard wasn't sure why, but it doesn't matter, because Nyota is hushing him and stroking his hair and gently pulling him to his feet. She leads him out of there, holding his hand the whole way because he wouldn't let go even if she wanted him to.

They beamed back to somewhere - The Enterprise? - and Leonard shot Nyota a panicked look. She gave him a soft, reassuring smile, and then he felt his atoms tear apart and he was rearranged a bright white room with bright white lights, and this is anything but home.

"Captain, you said there was a problem?"

His Uncle was from Scotland, married into the family, and when Leonard heard his voice his head immediately turned. He felt it again, that _safe safe safe_ running through his mind. He felt a hand curl around his wrist but it was too broad to be Nyota's. His head turned from 'Scotty' to Jim, who's giving him a worried look as he holds onto him.

Leonard hissed as he pulled his arm from his grip, stumbling back and away from him. Danger, too much danger. Jim reeks of it. Leonard wants home, he does not want danger.

The hurt look on JIm's face hurts him too, somewhere deep inside, and it takes Leonard's breath away.

"Woah, McCoy, calm down." Scotty had his hands on his arms as Leonard crashed into him, and he spun him round. He looked to Jim, and raised his eyebrows. "Aye, I see the problem."

That's when Leonard broke down again. He was a mess in Scotty's arms, sobbing into thin red material because Scotty was even safer than Nyota, and that was what he needed.

Scotty seemed to understand, because he gave a nod to Jim and pulled a sobbing Leonard into his arms. He didn't hear Jim give the order for Spock to "go analyse those vials and fix McCoy _now_ ", but he could feel those deep blue eyes on his back and it made him shiver.

"It's alright, laddy." Scotty soothed him, patting his back. "You're alright."

But he wasn't, and neither was Jim, and Leonard wasn't sure why it was hurting.

~*~

He was put in med bay, and told he wasn't allowed to leave.

Which of course meant nothing to him, because where else would he go?

"Don't leave, please don't leave." He drawled, every time Nyota or Scotty or Pavel, because Pavel must be his age and his so innocent and smiley that he's got to be safe, try to leave. He can put up with Sulu, who smiled at him but still seemed dangerous somehow, and he could get along with Janice and Christine. But Spock was still so cold, and Leonard wanted nothing to do with him, and even though Jim came all the time and gave him a sad smile Leonard couldn't, he just couldn't put up with him because Jim equalled danger.

Sometimes he'd close his eyes and pretend he was home, but it never felt the same. It never was home.

One time, they must have thought he was asleep. Jim gave a soft sigh, and said to someone, "Spock's almost got the serum worked out. He said another couple of days."

"Maybe you should take those couple of days to rest, Jim." Janice's voice. He heard Janice's voice. "You look like hell."

"I feel like hell." Jim muttered.

"So go to bed." Janice insisted.

There was silence for a moment, and Leonard considered opening his eyes. But then Jim sighed again, making Leonard frown involuntarily. Why was Jim, this man who screamed danger and always frowned at him and never, ever seemed happy to see him, so concerned about him?

"I just want him back, Janice."

Jim's voice was jst above a whisper and it shot straight through Bones like a god damn arrow. Jim sounded broken and hurt and nothing like danger, not at all. He sounded like a man in desperate need of warm harms and a bright smile, but Leonard couldn't give him any of those things, and it was also pretty much the opposite of what he actually wanted to give him.

Jim wrapped a hand around Leonard's, and the teen almost withdrew his hand. Almost.

"I miss him."

"I know, sweetie."

And Jim sobbed, and Leonard felt terrible, but Jim was just too much danger for him to handle.

~*~

"Alright Len, listen up." Christine spoke to him like an adult and Leonard liked that. "This sick green substance right here is going to age you back, hopefully, to more or less where you were before."

"Thirty four." Leonard murmured, because he'd been told several times already that he was actually nearing middle age and was not really a teenager.

"Exactly." She nodded. "So we're not going to inject it directly, we're going to-"

"Put it in some my fluids and let it filter in?" Leonard suggested, ebcause he might not've been a doctor but he was definitely David McCoy's son.

"Stop being such a know it all." Christine snapped, but she was chuckling softly. "That's exactly what we're going to do."

She pierced the foam pad that sat right next to the IV, and injected the icky looking substance into his clean looking fluid.

Christine stood by his side, but he still caught Jim hididng at the end of his bed, and his last thought before he went under was that of danger and brokeness all rolled into one.

Chris patted his head and smiled as his eyelids drooped. "It won't hurt a bit, Len."

~*~

It hurt a god damn lot.

His body stretched and twisted and turned and grew of it's own accord and Leonard was powerless to do anything but writhe in agony. He had seizures and pains across his entire body and the strain on his heart and his lungs was unbelievably strong. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but Christine told him that crawling into a hole and dying wasn't an option; she explicity said so when he asked.

Jim wasn't allowed anywhere near him, and for that Leonard was glad.

It was on his fifth day of fitting and fighting and writhing across his matress that he finally stilled. At first he thought he'd died, because suddenly every single pain went away, dying to a dull buzzing until he could no longer feel it.

"Jim?" He asked hoarsely.

Christine gave a small, gleeful smile. "Well I'll be damned. It worked."

"What worked?"

"It brought back your memories. It brought back his memories! Anderson, go get the Captain - he's gonna wanna see him."

And then Christine was gone, and Leonard was left staring at the harsh white med bay light.

He could remember everything; he had no idea what Christine was talking about. What he couldn't remember was the last week of his life.

"Bones!"

Jim was there and he was hugging him, tugging him into his body as if he hadn't seen him in years. Bones didn't get it. Maybe he'd bene in some horrible accident, or a coma, or-

Oh.

The last week of his life hit him like a truck, and he hugged Jim tighter than Jim had been hugging him before. He crushed him against his chest, breathing in the sweet smell of him.

When Jim spoke, his voice was choked. "I missed you, Bones."

Bones buried his face in Jim's neck. "I love you." he answered.

Jim sniffled. "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> So the style of this one is kinda weird - it might change a bit seeing as I started it before work and finished it afterwards. And I like to think that the start being a bit more fast paced reflects the action, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.
> 
> And I'm sorry for any typos.
> 
> Trust me, I'll get my shit together for my next fic.


End file.
